The Metropolitan Beach Resort is undergoing a major expansion which will see its number of rooms increase almost four-fold as the intimate beach club is turned into a major resort - the Metropolitan Beach Resort & Towers. Ben Smalley reports.

Dubai's success as a global tourism destination continues to grow unabated, attracting millions of visitors to its sandy beaches and crystal blue waters every year. With the ambitions of the city knowing no boundaries, and the number of visitors to the emirate forecast to reach 10 million by 2007 and 40 million by 2015, the Metropolitan Beach Resort has embarked on a major expansion programme which will add a further 350 rooms and suites and transform it into a leading resort.

Central to the expansion is the addition of two towers, designed in a contemporary Arabic style, which will be linked by a central platform housing a new lobby and reception - with the resort renamed the Metropolitan Beach Resort & Towers in keeping with the new development.

Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises, whose portfolio of construction projects already includes a number of Dubai's most famous hotels, including the Burj Al Arab, has been contracted to carry out the expansion programme on behalf of Metropolitan Hotels International, which also forms part of the family-owned Al Habtoor Group.

Work has already begun on the massive construction project, as well as an upgrade to the existing facilities, with the expanded property due to be complete and operational by May 2005.

Arthur de Snoo, General Manager of Metropolitan Hotels International in the UAE, says the new-look hotel represents a significant expansion that will transform the current resort beyond all compare.

"It is four times the size, so it is a major change," he explains. "The two towers - one is 22 storeys and the other 28 storeys - will create an additional 350 luxurious rooms and suites, so we will have a total of 450 rooms. Over the years, the resort has grown from a small beach club and, once we have 450 rooms, we will be a top player in the area"

The range of accommodation will cater to the pampered tourist as well as the demanding business executive through luxurious Tower Rooms, spacious Family Rooms, romantic Resort Rooms, and a choice of exquisite suites ranging from the Resort Suite to the opulent 800 square metre Penthouse Suite.

Although the increase in capacity is substantial, the resort has been designed to retain much of the intimate, relaxed atmosphere it has generated since first opening to the public in 1989.

"The way it's being done is very nice - you have two very contemporary Arabic towers which will be very stylish when you come into the lobby but, during the day when you go to the swimming pool area, it will remain casual. There is a great variety of very nice landscaping, it is a very carefree environment and will keep all the intimate feeling we have at the moment."

While the current resort attracts discerning leisure travellers, the addition of the two towers and its extra facilities - including a ballroom accommodating up to 850 people, four meeting and boardrooms, a spa and new restaurants - opens up a whole new array of possibilities which will enable the resort to attract a more wide-ranging clientele.

"Due to our current size and layout, we are limited in the type of business we get at the moment, which is mainly European packages," Mr de Snoo says. "With the expansion of the resort, we will be able to target the GCC, more group business, more incentives and more conferences - it opens up completely different markets which we just couldn't accommodate before."

As a beach resort, there remains a strong focus on leisure through four temperature controlled swimming pools, a 15,000 square metre private beach, three waterslides, tennis and squash courts and a water sports centre - while wellness facilities like steam rooms, saunas, Jacuzzis, a variety of treatment rooms, a state-of-the-art gym and a spacious exercise studio will appeal to local residents, as well as in-house guests.

Families with children are also well catered for through a Kid's Club and nursery with dedicated areas for youngsters - approximately 400 metres of indoor space, as well as outdoor space, including two children's pools.

The addition of new food and beverage outlets is another exciting aspect of the development, and one in which Mr de Snoo has a keen personal interest. After working in hotels in the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, Morocco ad Egypt, the Dutchman originally joined Metropolitan Hotels International as Food and Beverage Director of the Metropolitan Hotel on Dubai's Sheikh Zayed Road, and cooking is very much in his blood.

"My dad was a restaurant chef in Holland and I have been cooking since I was a child - even the books I read as a kid were cooking books," he explains. "My dad always told me to go into hotel management though as I would make a better living than being a chef, which I guess is partly true, but the passion for creative Food & Beverage is still very much in me."

Among the new outlets in the towers will be an international fine dining restaurant on the 28th floor, which will have spectacular views across The Palm and nearby Dubai Marina.

"We also have an Arabic restaurant which will be a fusion between Moroccan, Lebanese and local specialities with a focus on fresh seafood," Mr de Snoo says. " There will also be an all-day dining restaurant with a breakfast buffet, lunch and dinner."

A terrace café located between the towers and the existing resort will serve sandwiches and snacks, while an English pub called The Underground - themed on the London Underground and its Metropolitan Line - and a cocktail bar in the lobby lounge will be ideal places for guests and visitors to relax.

As well as the new outlets, the current restaurants in the resort are also being upgraded this summer, which means guests will eventually be able to eat in a different outlet every night of the week.

"On the more casual side you have Luciano's, which will stay as an Italian restaurant but will be extended so you have a nice outside terrace right up to the edge of the swimming pool," Mr de Snoo says. "We have L'Orangerie which is currently our all-day dining restaurant but next year, when we take the breakfast into the towers, it will be a really nice French bistro.

"And we have a new outlet opening called Asia which is an Asian club/restaurant which will have a mixture of different Asian cuisines - Indonesian, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese - with live cooking and a bar with live entertainment."

The expansion, he concludes, will create a 'complete' product, which will serve as a unique addition to the current range of hotels on Dubai's famous Jumeirah beach strip.

"What you find on the beach is that the hotels are European, or you go to the other extreme with an old-Arabic style. I think we blend in very nicely with a fresh, contemporary Arabic style. That's what makes us unique from a hardware point of view, and one of the other big advantages we have is a huge private beach, which nobody else has."

But it is the staff, he says, who make the real difference and set the resort apart.
"From the feedback we get from our clients, we have fantastic staff - many of whom have been with us for years. As part of the expansion, we will be hiring and training new people - guests see the hardware first when they walk in but, when they stay in your hotel it's the service and friendliness that make the big difference.
"With the new residential developments in the area, such as Arabian Ranches and Jumeirah Islands, we will also be looking to attract local residents to our food and beverage outlets, our gym, fitness classes and so on, so there is a huge market for what we will have to offer."

The expansion of the Metropolitan Beach Resort to become the Metropolitan Beach Resort & Towers is just one of the exciting new projects being undertaken by Metropolitan Hotels International, Mr de Snoo says. A planned hotel on The Palm, along with a new theme park and shopping centre in Beirut, are helping consolidate the Dubai-based company's reputation as one of the most dynamic players in the region's hospitality industry.